Recently Read Books

[Hey Adrien!]

Every year, my school does a summer reading program where we read one of four books and then once we return to school, we mix teachers and students for community book groups.

Usually, the books aren't very good and I've learned that I'm a better participant of the group if I haven't even read the book (ask more questions than give answers, it gives the kids more leadership ; ) but this year, I was intrigued by my book selection, Echo by Pam Munoz Ryan.

I taught her book Esperanza Rising a decade ago when I used to teach English and remember liking it, so I started reading Echo and was pretty hooked from the start.

It's a historical fiction YA novel that centers around WWII. A harmonica threads together the narrative of three main characters with a little magic realism thrown in too. At about 600 pages long, it's a commitment for a YA novel, but it's excellent. Since I've been teaching math exclusively in the last decade, I've been off the loop of good YA novels, but Echo holds its weight as simply an excellent book, just one that can be read by teenagers and adults.

If you have a 7th-9th grader who loves to read, I recommend this book highly and if you enjoy good YA books, then give it a try. Very worth my time and a good summer read too.

 

[HuskyHawk]

The Girl With All the Gifts. This was very good. It’s nominally a zombie premise, but not really. The lead character is fascinating and really well done. Definitely gives you a lot to chew on, moral dilemmas abound. Fast paced, exceeded my expectations.

 

[CL82]

I am finishing up Preston and Childs Pendergast series:

Picture of Pendergast as an FBI agent with Sherlock Holmes intellect and observation skills and Reachers ruthlessness. The tails often nibble on the edges of the supernatural which Pendergast sometimes refutes. I enjoy these books. They are a good summer read.

 

[HuskyHawk]

I am finishing up Preston and Childs Pendergast series:

View attachment 77929
Picture of Pendergast as an FBI agent with Sherlock Holmes intellect and observation skills and Reachers ruthlessness. The tails often nibble on the edges of the supernatural which Pendergast sometimes refutes. I enjoy these books. They are a good summer read.

That's a lot of books.

 

[CL82]

That's a lot of books.

Haha, yeah I guess it is. I only read numbers 4, 6, 7, 10, 11, 16 & 17 this summer. I found these authors during Covid and I read everything I could download electronically from my library. This summer‘s project has been filling in the gaps. I just need to read number 9 and I will have finished it. I’ve requested it and I’m waiting for it to come to my library. Fortuitously, these authors are really good about writing each one of their novels as a standalone. There are only two sets of three novels that need to be read in sequence. They were part of what I read this summer.

For what it’s worth, I enjoy long book series. It’s the equivalent of binge watching TV in that you get to immerse yourself in the characters and there is no wait for the next book to come out. My favorite is the Aubrey - Maturin novels by Patrick O’Brian (the Master and Commander series). They are excellent if you are a fan of historical fiction. I’ve read through the series twice and read a few favorites more often. A close second would be the Reacher series, even though they’re very different stylistically.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Haha, yeah I guess it is. I only read numbers 4, 6, 7, 10, 11, 16 & 17 this summer. I found these authors during Covid and I read everything I could download electronically from my library. This summer‘s project has been filling in the gaps. I just need to read number 9 and I will have finished it. I’ve requested it and I’m waiting for it to come to my library. Fortuitously, these authors are really good about writing each one of their novels as a standalone. There are only two sets of three novels that need to be read in sequence. They were part of what I read this summer.

For what it’s worth, I enjoy long book series. It’s the equivalent of binge watching TV in that you get to immerse yourself in the characters and there is no wait for the next book to come out. My favorite is the Aubrey - Maturin novels by Patrick O’Brian (the Master and Commander series). They are excellent if you are a fan of historical fiction. I’ve read through the series twice and read a few favorites more often. A close second would be the Reacher series, even though they’re very different stylistically.

I might give the Patrick O'Brian ones a try. My wife would love those most likely.

Dresden Files is my long binge series. 18 books so far, and while each is a stand alone story (aside from the last two) there is a heavy serial thread to most characters, and deeper stories behind the stories that grows with each book. Pieces of the bigger story keep being revealed. First two books are weaker, then it gets better.

 

[CL82]

I might give the Patrick O'Brian ones a try. My wife would love those most likely.

Dresden Files is my long binge series. 18 books so far, and while each is a stand alone story (aside from the last two) there is a heavy serial thread to most characters, and deeper stories behind the stories that grows with each book. Pieces of the bigger story keep being revealed. First two books are weaker, then it gets better.

I know I could Google it, but what is the one or two sentence synopsis of the series? By the end of the summer I’ll be caught up with pretty much everything I’ve wanted to read, so it would be the perfect time to start a new series. I may read some non-fiction though just to change things up.

 

[HuskyHawk]

I know I could Google it, but what is the one or two sentence synopsis of the series? By the end of the summer I’ll be caught up with pretty much everything I’ve wanted to read, so it would be the perfect time to start a new series. I may read some non-fiction though just to change things up.

Starts with a young PI in Chicago, who is a wizard with disdain for authority. Weird stuff is real, most people are in denial about what they may see, explaining it away. He gains some allies and grows and the threats he deals with grow, as he becomes more attuned to what the bigger players are up to.

 

[ZooCougar]

Three non fiction books about the illegal wildlife trade:

The Falcon Thief-I never read the Orchid Thief but it compares to it. Tough one to put down.

Lizard Kings-Sex, drugs and reptiles in Miami. Basically a smart reptile trader up against a smart wildlife agent. It’s like HEAT but with chameleons and rare turtles. Cool redemption arc at the end as well.

Stolen World-Different author than Lizard Kings but some overlap. Just as good.

One crazy thing about this I learned is how the Zoos were/are caught up in all this. They basically fueled much of this behavior by playing dumb and through quid pro quo.